It’s 2020 but this first weekend of the new year is your last chance to visit holiday displays until next winter!  Hopefully they’ll be less crowded and more enjoyable!!

Join the Lincoln Park Zoo (2001 N. Clark St.) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood as they celebrate 25 years of Zoolights. It’s a one-of-a-kind festive holiday experience featuring hundreds of luminous displays and incredible seasonal activities, all under the glow of 2.5 million lights.  Plus guests are free to wander through the zoo, snap photos of the displays, and enjoy ice sculpture carving, food, music, carousel, and train rides!  It’s quite the holiday light display to behold!!

The Lincoln Park Conservatory (2301 N. Stockton Dr.) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood features a Winter Flower and Train Show from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.  This event features “Ice Age” imagery of glaciers, a woolly mammoth, and hundreds of white poinsettias and plants.  Two trains roll through this wintery landscape dotted with white and blue sparkling lights while a large fir tree with lights greets visitors in the Palm House!

Every year, the Museum of Science & Industry (5700 S. Lake Shore Dr.) in the Hyde Park neighborhood puts up its 45-foot-tall Grand Tree surrounded by 50+ trees representing holiday traditions from cultures around the globe during Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light.  Not only will visitors admire the 30,000 lights that cover the trees but they’ll also see snow falling from the rotunda every 30 minutes and enjoy a live holiday performance!  And to think this began in 1942 with a single tree!!

See colorful tree lights and projections on a one mile walk at Illumination: Tree Lights at the Morton Arboretum (4100 Illinois Route 53) in Lisle (27 miles west of Chicago).  Visitors will be surrounded by color, light, and sound amid interactive lighting effects!  Then warm up by a crackling fire with hot beverages and s’mores!!  Also this year’s event debuts a new route with a more spacious pathway for this popular winter event!

For those who’ve had enough of the holidays, perhaps the following events are more to your liking:

Explore the trendy River North neighborhood while discovering some of Chicago’s best craft beers and delicious wines paired with bacon and pork treats such as bacon-stuffed deep-dish pizza and pork-inspired hors d’oeuvres on the Winter Beer, Bacon, Wine & Swine Tour.  You’ll even learn the true history of Chicago pizza!  After all, nothing stops Chicagoans from venturing outdoors for beer, bacon, and wine!!

Take in a hockey game as our Chicago Blackhawks host the Detroit Red Wings this Sunday (6:30 p.m.) at the United Center (1901 W. Madison St.) on the Near West Side.

Enjoy – It’s Back to Reality Next Week!!

This week took me to a new neighborhood and a new restaurant! I had plans to see a show at Lyric Opera in the Loop and knew I’d want to have a bite to eat before. Luckily, I found Rittergut Wine Bar & Restaurant, conveniently located about a block from the theatre. The space is utterly charming, with exposed brick, warm lighting, and gorgeous displays of wine bottles. We came in around 5 pm on a Thursday evening and were seated right away. The dinner menu is small, but packed with tasty items. We just made it for the end of happy hour (until 5:30 pm on weekdays), so we decided to order a few small plates to share. We started with the Margherita Flat Bread, topped with tomatoes, sunflower pesto, and mozzarella. This was delightful! I was pleasantly surprised by how large the portion was- there were 6 good sized pieces of flat bread. I loved the simplicity of the dish and the sunflower pesto was very tasty. We also chose the Artichoke Crab Dip: back fin crab, peppadews, onions, and grilled bread. This was easily my favorite dish we ordered. The dip was hot, wonderfully gooey, and full of flavor. The grilled bread was light and fluffy, the perfect complement to the substantial dip. We also ordered the Tacos Al Pastor: slow-grilled pork, adobo sauce, grilled pineapple, tomatillo salsa, and chile de arbol. To be honest, these were very disappointing. After the flatbread and dip were so tasty, I really expected more. The pork had very little flavor, which really killed the dish for me. We thought we would order entrees as well, but these small plates weren’t nearly as small as we expected. They ended up being our whole dinner! We also ordered wine by the glass, which was wonderful. I would love to come back and try more menu items here! I had my eye on The Lobster Roll and the Wild Mushroom Risotto- yum!

Rittergut is located at 10 South Wacker. They are open Mondays through Fridays for lunch from 11 am to 2:30 pm, dinner from 5 pm to 8 pm, and the bar is open from 11 am to 9 pm. They are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. They do take reservations, which can be made here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

The New Year is here and many of us are setting out to make this the best year ever. We have our goals set and we are ready to go. Here are a few tips used by high achievers that could make our year that much more successful.

Are you a snooze person? It’s not all bad. Instead of falling back to sleep and waking groggier than ever, take those 9 minutes to do a self-scan. Breathe deeply and stretch out your entire body. Think about things left unaccomplished the day before and how to finish them. Go over your plan for the day.

Deal with as much of your email as early as you can. Answer all that can be done quickly. Read the first lines of the rest, decide what needs immediate attention, and leave the rest marked unread. Next, write drafts for critical emails that demand more involved answers.  Make sure you proofread your answers, but don’t overthink. The rest can be dealt with later in the day.

Think about the top five things that would make your day successful. They can include one or two personal things. Start early in the day with your top priority. This is when your energy is highest. This task can maybe be one that’s not your favorite, so getting it done early gets it off your plate. Hold yourself accountable. If you find you have a to-do list longer than five, segment it according to due dates and priority. 

Do a smart week calendar that blocks all your time, both personal and work. Make sure to book your off time first; we often forget in this 24/7 world. Then schedule repetitive tasks and priorities. Always put in fudge time, as we know additional tasks will be added or others will take longer than anticipated.

Learn to listen. Make all your engagements everyday more personal. Make a conscious effort to ask questions and really LISTEN to the answers. People really do appreciate being listened to! More and more of our contact today is online, so we shouldn’t forget the value of personal contact. 

Decide to build a good habit. Whether it is working out, eating a good breakfast, or making your daily schedule the night before, it will take about 60 days to make it a habit. Most people that fail do so around the 3-week mark. Track your progress; this will make you more likely to reach success. Having someone doing it with you will help create accountability.

Start a gratitude journal. Every night, write down at least three things you were grateful for that day. They can be small or large. It really makes for a good frame of mind to end the day and look forward to tomorrow.

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

Believe it or not but Christmas is behind us for another year.  However here in Chicago our holiday festivities continue right into the following year!

Many of Chicago’s fun holiday cheer events from the past few weekends are available this weekend for you and your family to enjoy.  They include:

The City of Chicago Christmas Tree (Millennium Park, 201 E Randolph St) – The Loop

Wrigleyville Wonderland (Various Locations) – Wrigleyville

Window Wonderland (Milwaukee Ave between Ashland & North) – Wicker Park/Bucktown

Christmas Trees from Around the World (County Treasurer’s Office, 118 N Clark St, Rm 112) – The Loop

If you’re inclined to rest up this last weekend of 2019 to be rejuvenated to ring in the New Year, then so be it!  I will be doing the same!!  But come Monday, it’s time for our holiday grand finale leading us into a new year.

For those who prefer to quietly ring in their New Year, here are two events you might wish to partake in –

The Eve of the Eve Cocktail Cruise takes place on the Anita Dee II Yacht departing from DuSable Harbor (200 N. Breakwater Access) in The Loop on Monday (8:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.).  Celebrate a day early with a complimentary glass of champagne, music, dancing, and views of the city skyline!

Chicago’s Union Station (210 S. Canal St.) in the West Loop will be hosting the Eve of the Eve on Monday (8 p.m.-1 a.m.).  It’s a black-tie optional event offering partygoers an opportunity to mix and mingle, while jump starting their New Year’s celebration.  Guests will enjoy cocktails from the open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres from multiple food stations, dancing with live and DJ music, and raffles with all proceeds benefitting HighSight’s scholarship program!  It’s one of Chicagoland’s premiere holiday choices!!

And then, the final day of 2019 brings us –

The New Year’s Eve 5K will start and end at Chicago’s newly renovated Theater on the Lake (2401 N. Lake Shore Dr.) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on Tuesday (9 a.m.-12 p.m.).  This 5K is a scenic 3.1-mile loop showcasing the beauty of Lincoln Park and the Lakefront.  All runners receive branded swag, a finisher medal, and a full drink at the post race celebration held inside the Theater on the Lake for a Halfway to Midnight Celebration!

From dance parties to live bands to DJs and must-have midnight champagne cheers, the New Year’s Eve Bar Crawl is the perfect place to celebrate.  Check in is from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. at either Flat Iron (1565 N. Milwaukee Ave.) in the Wicker Park neighborhood or Tobacco Road (2247 N. Lincoln Ave.) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.  Your evening will take you to many venues with transportation to get you there!  Your only decision for the evening will be which venue, who to have your midnight kiss with, and which cocktail you’ll be ringing in 2020 with!!

Finally, this New Year’s Eve is special as we usher in a whole new decade!  Luckily, here in Chicago you’ve got lots of options!

See You Next Year!!